The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

THE Cowboys reportedly will use the franchise tag on defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence this offseason, with the goal of working out a long-term contract extension before the July 16 deadline, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

Moore added that the team won’t use the tag before they are first eligible to do so but will execute the manoeuvre by March 6.

Taking this course of action will allow the Cowboys to have piece of mind, in the sense of not having to worry about competing with other teams in free agency, where Lawrence would probably be considered a prize catch for any team seeking his services.

Lawrence doesn’t seem bothered at all by the Cowboys inevitably franchising him as he said this offseason per the Dallas Morning News: “I already know what my situation is. I really don’t care about it because I already know how the Cowboys feel about me and they know how I feel about the organisation. My agent is going to take care of everything.”

“I can’t tell you how much money they have in their pocket. I can’t tell you how they’re going to spend. I can’t tell you if they’re going to put a tag on me. I can’t tell you none of that. We’re just going to let the chips fall where they may. Let’s say they spend all of their money, what are they going to do?

“Tag me, point, blank, period, so I don’t have time to sit here and think about that.”

Lawrence, 25, had a stellar 2017 campaign which consisted of career highs in tackles (58), sacks (14.5), forced fumbles (four) and fumble recoveries (two).

Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 94.1 last season, ranking him third amongst all edge-rushers in the NFL.

In other words, it is imperative the Cowboys resign Lawrence.

The franchise tag placed will take up about $17.5 million in cap space for the Cowboys, all but depleting the $20 million they have free ahead of the 2018 season.

Naturally, signing him to a long-term deal would alleviate that cap hit and allow the Cowboys to spread his earnings over several seasons.

“Our first goal is to sign him to a long-term deal,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said at the Senior Bowl.

“Both sides will have leverage in contract talks. Lawrence established himself as a dynamic defensive end in 2018 and his value on the open market would be sky high, but he also needed back surgeries in consecutive offseason before his breakout campaign, a health risk the Cowboys will point to in negotiations.”

To me, the only reason you use a franchise tag is to hopefully protect yourself if you can’t get a long-term deal signed that you like.

That’s normally the route we like to go. Certainly we’re going to roll up our sleeves and see if we can do something with DeMarcus without having a franchise tag.”

I’m sure Lawrence had proven he’s health risk despite the talent.

Look for Cowboys to use it as leverage in negotiations.

When it comes to sealing this deal, let me quote Larry the Cable Guy “Get er done.”

We can’t afford to be outbid on this one.

• Naughty presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, on KISS FM 96.1. Comments and questions to naughty@tribunemedia.net